A/N: This chapter pains me to write but it must be done.
Falling Tears
"Take care of her", Mr. Hackle muttered, waking Sweeney from his deep thought.
He looked up to see the old man staring blankly into the distance. "Mr. Hackle?" he asked standing up. "Mr. Hackle?!"
Sweeney recognized that lifeless stare. Nellie's father was… "Dead…" the word escaped the barber's lips in a whisper. He placed his fingertips on Mr. Hackle's hand and felt the warmth fading from it. He drew back quickly and bit his lip, his mind racing. What should I do? He asked himself. He had to let everyone know.
"Hilda! Hilda, come quickly!" Sweeney called.
Moments later, Hilda entered the room, some kind of odd cream on her face and wearing her robe. "What on Earth?!" she asked, panting.
Sweeney stood aside and allowed her vision of the dead man behind him. A hand flew to her mouth, "No, no…Mr. Hackle…he's…" Sweeney nodded solemnly.
She shook her head violently, "Poor, poor man!" she said, her eyes filling with tears, "And how will I ever tell Nellie?!"
Sweeney looked into her grief stricken face, remembering Mr. Hackle's last words. "I'll tell her", he whispered.
"You'll what?"
"I said, I'll tell her myself", and with that, he left the parlor, heading for the stairs. He had to be there to comfort her, to take care of her. Therefore he felt responsible for telling her of her father's passing.
ST
Sweeney knocked on Mrs. Lovett's door. There was no answer so he assumed she must have been asleep already. With a deep sigh, he grabbed hold of the knob and pushed the door open. He let his eyes rest on her sleeping form. She was so peaceful, she had no idea what terrible event had just occurred. Regretting his decision, wishing he didn't have to wake her, he silently crossed the room to her bed.
He looked at her face where a small smile was present on her lips. He reached out and touched the bare skin of her arm. She shifted in her sleep and he nudged her a little harder. "Mrs. Lovett…wake up…"
She opened her eyes sleepily and said, "I'm having that dream again…" She turned over and tried to go back to sleep.
"No, Mrs. Lovett, please wake up", he said, keeping his voice low as not to startle her too terribly.
"Mr. Todd?" she asked, sitting up in the bed and staring at him. He nodded. She waited for him to state his reason for waking her, "What is it, love?"
He hesitated, "Uh…Nellie… there's something you need to know but I…"
Her heart jumped, thinking he might finally be confessing his love to her. She caressed his cheek lovingly, "Tell me, Mr. T? What is it?"
He put his hand over hers and he could hear her breath shudder lightly, "Your father…he…he's dead, Mrs. Lovett."
Her heart felt like it had dropped to the pit of her stomach and she gasped, "No…it can't be! Please tell me it's not true!"
He lowered his gaze, "I'm sorry…"
A sob escaped her throat and tears began to roll down her cheeks. "Why…God, why?" she cried and suddenly felt Sweeney's arms around her.
She held onto him like he could easily slip away and buried her head into his shirt. "Shh", he soothed, rubbing her back in small circles. She couldn't stop the tears from coming and her body shook uncontrollably. Sweeney could feel his eyes glassing over with tears of his own but held them back. He never cried in front of her or anyone else. He hardly cried at all, but then again, what was pride in a situation like this?
"Why my father, why not me instead?!" she wailed, her voice muffled by his shirt.
Denial… Sweeney knew what that felt like. He experienced it everyday of his life. He asked upon hearing the news of his wife's death, "Why not me? Why not the judge?"
"Don't talk like that, pet. It does no good," he said quietly.
"I can't help it. I feel awful," she sobbed.
Sweeney realized that he had yet to profess his love to her but this was not the time. She was grieving too intensely to accept hearing that now. She just needed someone to tell her everything would be alright…like she had done for him.
After a long while, Sweeney asked, "Do you…want to see him?"
"No", she muttered, "I couldn't bare it."
Her tears finally stopped because she had none left to cry. She sniffled and absentmindedly twisted a strand of Sweeney's black hair around her finger. If it wasn't for her sorrow, this would be a dream come true for her, being held so tightly in the dear barber's arms.
"Thank ye..." she said, "for catching all my tears…"
"I'll always be here to catch your tears", he replied softly.
She smiled and a final tear trailed down her cheek as she closed her eyes and nestled her head in the crook of his neck.
A/N: sniffle This was the saddest chapter yet. Tell me if you cried so I'll know if I did my job well. Thankyou wonderful reviewers, continue to R&R!
